Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment
One of rural Alberta’s favourite success stories is celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2024.
Founded in Calgary, Alberta, Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment has always been a beacon of excellence because of the staff’s commitment to craftsmanship, safety, and practicality. The brand of Hi-Hog has made it the “go-to” choice for farmers, ranchers, horse owners, and rodeo enthusiasts alike.
The company began as a family operation with the simple goal of building better hog penning and farrowing crates. As the demand grew, so did their product line and reputation.
Bison Handling
Myron, a sales associate at Hi-Hog, brings hard-earned expertise to the job as he’s also a successful bison rancher near Admiral Sask. His firsthand experience with bison makes him an invaluable resource when designing equipment that works.
“On our ranch, we’ve been in bison for 28 years, and all of our neighbours thought we were nuts,” said Myron during a recent interview. “They asked, ‘What are you going to do during calving time?’ And we always responded, ‘Well, if you’re a fisherman, you go fishing. If you’re a golfer, you go golfing, and then you come back and count your calves,” he chuckled.
“To answer your question, yes—the equipment for bison does have to be very heavy duty as they’re still a wild animal, but they’re very trainable,” he explained. “Equipment-wise, their needs are similar to cattle, but their flight zones are way bigger, so you have to design things a little bit roomier,” he said.
“For example, on our ranch, our holding pens are roomy, but when the bison are funnelled into the higher-pressure areas, the panels are heavier and taller. We also sheet in the sides, as a bison calf thinks if they can see through it, they can go through it, so we do that for their own protection.”
Myron and Andy are both in sales and work closely with the customer to design what works and fits in the available space. The design work begins with the rancher’s sketch. A precise plan is designed with Auto-CAD, a computer-aided drafting program. Then, the livestock handling design is created and installed using interchangeable standard components; each powder-coated with their weather-resistant, signature Hi-Hog Green. The designer (generally Myron or Andy) always factors in the “immovables,” such as water bowls, power poles, and barns, avoiding one-of-a-kind elements because “they’re expensive,” said Myron.
Horses & Rodeo
Hi-Hog also builds reliable, specialized rodeo equipment, including bucking chutes and roping chutes, along with their sturdy and smooth line of horse stalls and round pens.
“Our rodeo chutes are made in individual boxes,” explained Myron. “We start with one bucking chute and then add on however many chutes are required—every arena is different. We’ve had arenas that only put in one chute for a practice pen, and then we’ve outfitted arenas with up to 10 bucking chutes.”
Hi-Hog also has a “rodeo guy.”
“Andy (sales & logistics) is also a rodeo judge. So, he’s got the best experience in designing rodeo arenas,” said Myron. “We have rodeo setups pretty well all over North America. We’re not going to be the lowest cost, but we have repeat customers from all over, and that’s always a good sign,” he said.
“Our portable panels are really popular with barrel racers and breakaway ropers,” continued Myron. “They fit sideways in most stock trailers and are light enough that even small barrel racers can lug them around. They can make a freestanding pen or a half circle and tether the panels to the trailer. They’re very versatile,” he said.
Cattle Handling
Hi-Hog’s cattle handling equipment is a game-changer for ranchers. Their hydraulic and manual cattle squeeze chutes, head gates, palpation cages, working alleys, crowding tubs, and livestock loading chutes ensure smooth handling and reduced stress for both animals and handlers. There are endless configurations to fit most situations, using standard products in most cases.
“Our calving/trimming chute is very versatile,” explained Myron. “It’s multipurpose; both sides will swing wide open, so you have full access to both sides of the cow. They’re built super heavy duty, and they’re also very popular in vet clinics.”
After 50 years in the livestock handling business, Hi-Hog has earned its reputation.
“One thing I would like to say is that we’ve always done a few things very right,” said Myron. “We’ve got three weights of cattle panels and the heavy-duty bison panel. They’re designed to be versatile; you can take the lightest cattle panel, and it’ll hook directly to a bison chute. That might not be the best idea ever, but the point is that you don’t have to have adapters to go from light to medium to heavy to bison,” he said. “Because the adapters are always going to be under the snow when you need them.”
Spoken like a true rancher.
Where to Buy Hi-Hog
“We encourage customers to go through our dealers,” said Myron. “It took us 50 years to get our dealer network, and our biggest distributor is Federated Co-op. Very few people on the Canadian prairies are more than a half hour from a Hi-Hog dealer.”
See what else Hi-Hog has created! Visit hi-hog.com
